


Old Friends Still Remembered

by Texeoghea



Category: Transformers: Beast Wars
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Drabble, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, This is also technically canon divergence but dont worry about it, Time Shenanigans, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:09:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24222586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Texeoghea/pseuds/Texeoghea
Summary: Depth Charge and Rampage have been wandering the universe for millions of years. Finally, they're at the faithful day that Depth Charge was first shot into the past. Without the worry of avoiding his past self and causing a time distortion, Depth Charge calls a long-lost friend.
Relationships: Depth Charge/Rampage
Kudos: 9





	Old Friends Still Remembered

“Do you know what year it is?” Depth Charge asked. Rampage blinked, sitting up blearily. “What?” He muttered. He glanced at his internal chronometer. In a shocking turn of events, Depth Charge was the one waking him up at an absurd hour of the morning, and not the other way around.

“The year,” Depth Charge asked, a powerfully contemplative expression on his face. “No,” Rampage grunted, flopping back down and curling into Depth Charge’s side. “And I don’t care.”

“Maybe _you_ don’t,” Depth Charge hummed. “But… it’s been a very long time since we got warped to prehistoric Earth.”

That was the truth. They’d watched from the shadows as humans evolved, built their cities, waged their wars, and as the Autobots and Decepticons fought their own… and finally, when the humans had invented space tech powerful enough to actually leave the planet, and the Cybertronians began getting careless with where they left their salvage, Depth Charge and Rampage had taken what they could and built a starhopper. 

And then they left.

That itself had been a long time ago. “I can’t even remember how long we’ve been exploring,” Depth Charge said, “but, at some point, we’re going to be back in the present.”

“This is the present,” Rampage grumbled, just to be contrary. “The time we come from is still, in this moment, the future. And technically the past, if our memories count for anything.”

Depth Charge glared at him, sitting up despite Rampage’s whine. “At some point, we’re going to be back in the time that we left,” he remedied. “Which is very confusing to try and say. But…” 

“Don’t even think about it,” Rampage sighed. “You saw how Primal and Megatron almost destroyed the known universe with their petty antics.”

“You think I don’t _know_ that it’s a bad idea?” Depth Charge growled. “Of course I know that. And I’m not going to. But the temptation is there… I think it’s going to be there until it’s too late.”

Rampage pulled him back down. “If you change what happened, then this changes,” he said softly. “Do you want to change this?”

“No,” Depth Charge whispered fiercely, wrapping his wings around his partner and holding him close. “I’d never let anything take you away from me again.” Rampage wrapped his limbs around Depth Charge’s abdomen with a happy sound. “Good.”

They were quiet for a moment. Rampage began to drift off again.

“But still,” Depth Charge sighed. “What year do you think it is?”

“I think it’s time to go the hell to sleep,” Rampage grumbled. Depth Charge snickered, but his spark sang of longing.

“You want to see your friends again,” Rampage said.

“Just one, really,” Depth Charge answered.

“Well, that does make me very curious,” Rampage sighed, “but if you don’t shut up and go back to sleep right now, I’ll be forced to knock you out.”

“You couldn’t if you wanted to,” Depth Charge said. Rampage groaned, burying his face in Depth Charge’s neck.

“Please. For my sake. Go back to sleep.”

Depth Charge laughed softly, stroking the finials on top of Rampage’s head. “Fine, fine.” He said. “But when we wake up, I want to do some investigating.”

“And I’ll gladly help. Goodnight, fins.”

Depth Charge kissed Rampage’s head, causing the crab to start purring. “Goodnight, crabbycakes.”

  
Depth Charge woke a few hours later, carefully sliding out of Rampage’s grasp. The mech whined softly, but didn’t wake fully. Depth Charge pulled the mesh blanket back over him to keep him warm, then left the berthroom, entering the cabin of their ship.

He clicked the navigation systems online. “Computer, what day is it?” He asked.

“It is nine cycles and fifty-two kliks into the two hundred-twelfth solar cycle of the three hundred-fifteenth stellar cycle of Cybertron,” the computer answered.

Which is, to say in a way those reading would understand, the day that Depth Charge got sent back in time, give or take a few hours.

“Damn,” he said, surprised. “Right on the money. I’m just too good.”

He re-checked their galactic coordinates. They were just barely in range for a call to Cybertron, if he used a certain frequency, but he wasn’t planning on a very long call. Just closure.

“Computer,” he said, “Contact personal ID number C4-0493529385…”

The call hung in the air for enough time that Depth Charge grew worried. But eventually, the line picked up. A face fizzled into view on the dashboard’s projector, one that Depth Charge thought he’d never see again. His spark sang with happiness at the sight of his oldest friend.

“Well, if it isn’t Captain Carpool,” Jumpstart greeted, grinning with delight. Primus, _that_ was a nickname Depth Charge hadn’t heard in a while. “You look different, what the hell happened to you? I mean,” Jumpstart grimaced, “other than… I heard about Omicron, and Rugby… It was a damn shame.”

Depth Charge shook his head. “No, it…” he thought about how to respond. Right at that moment, a past version of him was out there somewhere, wallowing in rage and despair. He couldn’t just dismiss those years, but he didn’t feel that way anymore- he hadn’t felt that way for a long time.

“It was… there are too many people to put blame on, and it’s not like it would help any,” Depth Charge sighed. “What matters is that it never happens again.”

Jumpstart stared at him for a moment. “Remarkably wise for you, my friend,” he said. “You sound so much older than last time we met.”

Depth Charge smiled wryly. “And you haven’t changed at all, have you, Jump?”

“It’s only been… what, ten stellar cycles since we last met?” Jump’s optics gleamed in a look Depth Charge knew well. The kind of look he got before he built a galactic navigation system with spare maintenance bot parts, some tin foil, and a compass. “You’re talking like it’s been eons.”

“You were always too smart for your own good, Jumpstart,” Depth Charge shook his head fondly.

“I don’t suppose you’ll confirm any of my theories,” Jumpstart pouted. Depth Charge laughed. “No, I can’t make it _too_ easy for you, can I?” 

Jumpstart scoffed in response. “No, all you’ve ever done is make my life harder.”

“Hey, someone’s gotta put a dampener on your genius, or else you’d have taken over the galaxy ten stellar cycles ago,” Depth Charge joked.

Jumpstart laughed again. “I missed you, Depth Charge,” he sighed happily. “Even if you’re a dented skidplate sometimes.”

Depth Charge’s smile fell, causing Jumpstart to sadden. “...You’re not going to call again, are you?”

“Probably safest if we keep communications to a minimum,” Depth Charge said, “I am technically a criminal now.”

“Wait, _what?”_ Jumpstart gaped. Oops. “What the hell happened? What did you do?”

“Too much information,” Depth Charge said, reaching to end the call. “I just wanted to talk to you one last time.”

“Depth Charge,” Jumpstart cried, “don’t you dare-”

“Goodbye, Plasma Torch,” Depth Charge said.

_“Depth Charge-”_ with a click, he ended the feed. Jumpstart sent another call almost instantly, but he ignored it, leaning back in his chair with a sigh. His friend was alive, he was safe on Cybertron, away from the chaos of the Beast Wars. That was all Depth Charge needed to know.

Only then did he notice Rampage standing in the doorway.

“Three guesses to your first question?” He asked, spinning around to face his bonded. Rampage scoffed. “Be my guest.”

“That was Jumpstart,” Depth Charge said. “He was my best friend.”

“Was,” Rampage noted.

“The last time I saw him was when I was leaving Cybertron, back when Omicron was just some platforms on a space rock. At our current time, it was about ten stellar cycles ago… and for me, it’s been a lot longer than that.” Depth Charge glanced back out of the windshield, staring at the stars. “I wanted to see him again. Just to know.”

“I could taste your elation,” Rampage said quietly, sitting next to him. “That mech is very dear to you.”

Depth Charge nodded. “He was,” he corrected. “I’ll never be able to speak to him again. Even calling him was a risk, I just…” he fell quiet. They both knew why Depth Charge had checked.

“It’s so strange,” Rampage said after a few minutes of quiet. Depth Charge looked at him. “You _knew_ people. You still do.”

“What do you mean?” Depth Charge asked.

Rampage sighed. “You’re… the only person I know, Depth Charge. I could say that I knew Waspinator, but I didn’t. I knew his name. I watched him get shot out of the sky. And the other Predacons are dead.”

“Except Quickstrike,” Depth Charge said. Rampage sighed again, a much more long-suffering sound. “Yes, except Quickstrike,” he growled. 

Depth Charge snickered, then leaned forwards, resting a hand over Rampage’s. “I- well, I don’t understand how you feel, but I understand what you’re saying,” he said. “And if it upsets you, I get that too.”

“It doesn’t upset me,” Rampage shrugged. “You’re the only mech in the universe that matters.”

The nonchalant way in which he said it, as if it was a simple law, like gravity, made Depth Charge’s faceplates heat up. “Yeah, I love you too,” he said. Rampage purred happily.

The both looked back out at the stars. “Where are we going next?” Rampage asked.

“Preferably the opposite direction from Cybertron or its colonies,” Depth Charge said. “Again, I am technically a wanted criminal for going directly against the Council, and you’re _you_ , so we should start laying low for a while.”

“We were already laying low,” Rampage whined. He didn’t actually care, but he liked annoying Depth Charge.

“Yeah, well now we have to be careful about it,” Depth Charge sighed. “Remember that tower on Earth?”

“That wasn’t entirely my fault,” Rampage defended. 

“How about the spaceship?” Depth Charge raised an eyebrow.

“I thought it was a missile!” Rampage waved the hand that Depth Charge wasn’t holding. “And we could go on all day! What about that time you-”

“Anyways,” Depth Charge said quickly, “I don’t really mind where we go. As long as we aren’t in the Council’s reach, being anywhere with you is fine by me.”

“Your sweetness won’t distract me,” Rampage said as it distracted him. Depth Charge winked. “Sure.”

Rampage moved his hand, lacing their fingers together. “How about that one?” He said, pointing into the distance at nothing in particular.

Depth Charge snorted. “We can go anywhere you wanna, big guy.”

Rampage turned his head slowly, eyes glinting with mischief. “How about there?” He asked, gesturing to Depth Charge’s lap.

Depth Charge rolled his eyes, even as he leaned back to give Rampage room.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't actually remember if Depth Charge even mentions having friends from bootcamp, but I like to imagine that he had a pretty normal life before Omicron. Parties, friends, all that good stuff. We already know he knew a lot of people on Rugby, who he was implied to be close to...
> 
> Jumpstart, as far as I know, isn't a canon character, but the more I thought about the idea of Depth Charge in bootcamp befriending the local genius, the more I liked it. Chill pre-Rampage Depth Charge intrigues me, and I'm planning on writing more about him.


End file.
